American Dream
A notion that has pervaded the American spirit since its very conception, the American Dream stands for socioeconomic success and represents the idealized life which many, new immigrants or not, aspire to achieve. The American Dream means something unique to each individual. More than the conventional measures of financial stability and social mobility, each interpretation can offer deeper insights into the specific values that people hold in high regard. As we can see from our storytellers, the American Dream not only manifests itself in how one should perceive their own degree of success, but also in how the next generation is expected to progress and lead a better life.
Pei Yang – “Quite successful and obedient, [my children] are sort of a product of East meets West; they not only acquire Chinese culture but also have the American spirit. This also counts as achieving my American dream.”
Pei Yang Transcription
Oh, I feel like my end is near… American dream… I don’t need to dream anymore. At the very least, my dream, in the future… wait until I retire, there will be someone who can take over this restaurant, continue what my shop is about, and keep it going successfully. Umm… but from my own perspective, my American dream basically is… more or less… I… personally do not like to set my goals too high, because I am only an ordinary person. If I set them too high, I might not be able to reach them. So I feel that, for me… I can maintain this restaurant for 33 years, and I saw other shops come and go… one day in and the next day out… I am still here, and the business is rather stable. This can count as achieving my American dream. Ah… my children, my three kids, all… quite successful and obedient, the Chinese… they are sort of a product of East meets West; they not only acquire Chinese culture but also have the American spirit… This also counts as achieving my American dream.
Naomi Munggai – “I do support, and I think I’m of the view, that if you are here, if you are level one, the next generation should move on to level two. For goodness’ sake, don’t go back to zero.”
Naiomi Munggai Transcription
Okay… from what I understand as what is the American Dream. You own a home, you have a car, you have a job, you make money, you go to school. If you’re in the middle class, go up, if you’re in the lower class, go middle class. Minimum you stay in the middle class, you stay there and you don’t go down. Hopefully, you go up. So that probably is what I have understood to be the American Dream. A lot of people are talking about it… that you know, you, you need to own your own house, you need to have a job, middle class, something like that. But in honesty, there’s, there’s like, other countries do the same thing too. Where I came from it’s like, everybody needs to buy a house, everybody needs to go to school, everybody needs to work. You own your own money. You don’t hope for the government to give you handouts. Because there’s none. Especially in developing countries and poor countries, the government has no money to support, support you. So, they, they don’t have …. So, you gotta be able to work and earn your own living. Nobody is giving you anything. So, that is the dream. If you are poor you go up here. But, I, I guess, you know, like, how far can you go? What is it? Like if you are in the middle class do you want to go up there? Is that a dream to be in the highest, upper class? I don’t know, maybe it is a good thing. But I do support, and I think I’m of the view that if you are here, if you are level one, the next generation should move on, to level two. For goodness sake, don’t go back to zero. You have to keep on. So, the social mobility, I think, is very important. And people have to understand that. And I think everywhere in the world that should be the dream of everybody, move on. Of course it’s easier to say, but, and it’s not easy to do that. If you are really down here, no opportunities, no nothing, you can only dream to go up there. But hopefully, at some point, in their time they’ll move up to whatever they want.
Phuong Nguyen – “I have a job, I have a wife, I have a car, I have a house, I have a kid. I have everything.”
Phuong Nguyen Transcription
About any particular expectations for the future, I have none, since my son is still young. I have not really thought about it. I can’t really force him to become anything right now. For his future, I only want him to strive to do well, to learn the good things in life. I want him to study hard. Not that I expect my son to be a scholar, but I want him to at least be able to read and do better than I do. Because in the past I didn’t get to go to school. I do feel bad about it, but what happened, happened. It’s already over. Now I have a son, I want him to learn to be able to read and explore life and decide his own future. That’s all I want for him. I don’t have any higher expectations. His future should be about his own learning and being literate and deciding his own future. But I also want to be able to save money for my son’s future. Other than that, I haven’t thought about anything more for his future. No do anything without my mom. I don’t know how bout, I don’t know these are my same things right now. Now I have a job, I have a wife, I have a car, I have a house, I have a kid. I have everything.
Judy Dirks – “The American Dream, I think it’s to live in a country where you aren’t persecuted. Where you can live anywhere you want to… can get education. Think of all these things. “
Judy Dirks Transcription
The American Dream, I think it’s to live in a country where you aren’t persecuted. Where you can live anywhere you want to in the United States. Where you can get education. Think of all these things. You can basically choose jobs that you can fit, can do, you know, you can. A lot of those are just all part of the American Dream, these things that a lot of Americans don’t even realize other people want but don’t have in their own countries. You know, and these are just some of those things. And like I said a lot of Americans do not realize how lucky we are to have been born here and live here and have the opportunities that we have by living here.